Cameron used cutting edge filmmaking technology to capture Ghosts of the Abyss. He filmed the exploration with a camera designed specifically for the project called “The Reality System”. “The Reality System” is a 3D, large format, high definition, digital film technology that allowed Cameron to capture underwater footage that is second to none. Whatever areas were out of the reach of his cameras he expertly recreated with computer generated images.

He also used a technique he called “echoes in time” to superimpose objects and people onto the wreckage to depict what function that area had or what story it had been reported there. The film was originally presented in a 3D format in IMAX theaters and was almost an hour long. An expanded version of the film with an additional thirty minutes of footage is available on DVD. If you have any interest in the Titanic or underwater exploration, you really should check out this film. It’s pretty incredible.

Scott and Matt of The Gods of Filmmaking

http://www.godsoffilmmaking.com/html/ghosts_of_the_abyss.html